All The Addiction Commercials [View all]

[ProfessorGAC]

These things are non-stop on nearly every channel i watch. Just this morning, the Hope and Health group ran 2 in the same 20 minute period of Sportscenter, and some other one with a fake doctor ran one. During another commercial i switched to AHC to watch Fact or Fiction and i saw two more in 10 minutes. (Same two outfits.)

Normally i tune them out or switch the channel because i have a feeling they're selling snake oil. But, for various reasons, i didn't today. And i noticed something.

EVERY person in those commercials is white. Every one of them.

So, it got me thinking that the reason why the new heroin and the ongoing opioid "epidemic" is making news is that white people are involved. Now, these people aren't criminals, they are desperate people who need help. Quite a bit different than when crack was brutalizing minority communities and the crackers just thought that meant they were all criminals.

I use the term epidemic in quotes, because now i'd like to see CDC numbers (i'll pull those when i'm not at work) and see if there really is statistically significant change or if it's close to a constant and everyone is worked up because now it's white people who are addicts.

Since i'm a supporter of ending the drug war in toto, (yes, everything legal if 18 or older). i admit to having a jaundiced eye in these matters. But, i don't think it's a coincidence that now we have "Hope and Help" now that it's white addicts and we had jail when it was POC.